VAT and the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ)

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2 Textmasterformate durch Klicken bearbeiten - how Zweite Ebene works and how Cyprus courts can benefit - VAT and the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) Dritte Ebene Vierte Ebene Dr. Stefan Maunz KÜFFNER MAUNZ LANGER ZUGMAIER Limassol VAT Forum 2017 Limassol, 9 June

3 Agenda 1. Union law Textmasterformate durch Klicken bearbeiten 1.1 VAT Zweite Ebene Dritte Ebene 1.2 The Court Vierte Ebene 2. How to get there? 2.1 The Court 2.2 Reference for preliminary ruling 3

4 1. Union law 1.1 Textmasterformate VAT - Main sources durch of Union Klicken law bearbeiten VAT Zweite Directive Ebene 2006/112/EC (amended 2016/1045 of 27 June 2016) 13th Directive Dritte Ebene 86/562/EEC 8th Directive Vierte Ebene 79/1072/EEC (amended 2006/98/EC of 20 November 2006) VAT Regulation 282/2011 (amended 1042/2013 of 7 October 2013) 4

5 1. Union law 1.1 Textmasterformate VAT durch Klicken bearbeiten Direct Zweite application Ebene of VAT Directive? ECLI:EU:2006:374 Dritte Ebene Feuerbestattungsverein Halle e.v. C-430/04 28 Secondly, Vierte it is Ebene settled case-law that unconditional and sufficiently precise provisions of a directive may, in the absence of implementing measures adopted within the prescribed period, be relied on by private individuals against any national provision which is incompatible with the directive or in so far as they define rights which individuals are able to assert against the State (see, in particular, Case 8/81 Becker [1982] ECR 53, paragraph 25, and Joined Cases C-465/00, C-138/01 and C-139/01 Österreichischer Rundfunk and Others [2003] ECR I-4989, paragraph 98). 5

6 1. Union law 1.1 Textmasterformate VAT durch Klicken bearbeiten Direct Zweite application Ebene of VAT Directive? ECLI:EU:2006:374 Dritte Ebene Feuerbestattungsverein Halle e.v. C-430/04 The Court Vierte has already Ebene held that since the bodies and activities to which the rule of treatment as non-taxable persons applies is clearly defined by Article 4(5) of the Sixth Directive, that provision fulfils the criteria for direct effect. VAT Directive can be generally considered as directly applicable 6

7 1. Union law 1.1 Textmasterformate VAT durch Klicken bearbeiten However Zweite Ebene More than Dritte 200 Ebene options in VAT Directive ( Member States may ) E.g. Article 11 Vierte Ebene After consulting the advisory committee on value added tax (hereafter, the VAT Committee ), each Member State may regard as a single taxable person any persons established in the territory of that Member State who, while legally independent, are closely bound to one another by financial, economic and organisational links. A Member State exercising the option provided for in the first paragraph, may adopt any measures needed to prevent tax evasion or avoidance through the use of this provision. 7

8 1. Union law 1.1 Textmasterformate VAT durch Klicken bearbeiten ECLI:EU:2015:496 Zweite Ebene Larentia + Minerva C-108/14 Dritte Ebene In that regard, it should be noted that, whenever the provisions of a directive appear, so far as their subject-matter is concerned, to be unconditional and sufficiently precise, Vierte Ebene they may be relied upon before the national courts by individuals against the State where the latter has failed to implement the directive in domestic law by the end of the period prescribed or where it has failed to implement the directive correctly (see, inter alia, judgment in GMAC UK, C-589/12, EU:C:2014:2131, paragraph 29). [ ] That article is thus conditional inasmuch as it involves the application of national provisions determining the actual scope of such links. As a consequence, Article 4(4) of the Sixth Directive does not satisfy the conditions necessary for it to produce direct effect. 8

9 1. Union law 1.1 Textmasterformate VAT durch Klicken bearbeiten Roughly Zweite 800 Ebene cases on VAT since 1970 How one Dritte local Ebene court can make a difference 15 cases Vierte on VAT Ebene referred by Administrativen sad Varna (Bulgaria) E.g. Asparuhovo Lake Investment Company, Traum, Marinov, Rusedespred, Stroy trans, Bonik, Eon Aset, Balkan and Sea Properties 9

10 Agenda 1. Union law Textmasterformate durch Klicken bearbeiten 1.1 VAT Zweite Ebene Dritte Ebene 1.2 The Court Vierte Ebene 2. How to get there? 2.1 The Court 2.2 Reference for preliminary ruling 10

11 1. Union law 1.2 Textmasterformate The Court durch Klicken bearbeiten Article Zweite 19 Treaty Ebene on the European Union Court Dritte of Justice, Ebene General Court, specialised courts Ensures Vierte that interpretation Ebene and application of the Treaties the law is observed Member States ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law (VAT!) 11

12 1. Union law 1.2 Textmasterformate The Court durch Klicken bearbeiten Article Zweite 19 Treaty Ebene on the European Union one Dritte judge Ebene from each Member State (for Cyprus: Constantinos Lycourgos) 11 Advocates-General Vierte Ebene (six from larger Member States, five from smaller Member States) six year mandate Advocate General (Rapporteur Public) part of the Court ECJ to decide which Chamber and whether opinion of Advocate General Rules of Procedures of the Court of Justice 12

13 1. Union law Textmasterformate cases brought durch Klicken bearbeiten Zweite cases Ebene completed Dritte procedural Ebene documents entered in the register of the Registries Average duration of proceedings: 16.7 months Vierte Ebene Court of Justice General Court judicial notices published in the Official Journal of the European Union pages of translation produced 602 hearings and meetings with simultaneous translation 74 hearings and meetings with simultaneous translation 13

14 The language departments Textmasterformate durch Klicken bearbeiten Zweite Ebene 74 interpreters for hearings and meetings 613 lawyer-linguists to translate written documents 24 Dritte Ebene potential languages of the case Vierte Ebene 23 language units 522 possible language combinations 14

15 Agenda 1. Union law Textmasterformate durch Klicken bearbeiten 1.1 VAT Zweite Ebene Dritte Ebene 1.2 The Court Vierte Ebene 2. How to get there? 2.1 The Court 2.2 Reference for preliminary ruling 15

16 2. How to get there? Textmasterformate durch Klicken bearbeiten Zweite Ebene Dritte Ebene Boulevard Konrad Adenauer Kirchberg, L-2925 Luxemburg Vierte Ebene 16

17 2. How to get there? Textmasterformate Five different procedural durch routes Klicken bearbeiten But Zweite only one Ebene for local courts: preliminary rulings - Art 267 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) Dritte Ebene National court may ask questions if necessary Vierte Ebene Duty to refer to the court, if Court of last instance Validity of EU law 17

18 2. How to get there? Textmasterformate durch Klicken bearbeiten Article 267 The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings Zweite Ebene concerning: Dritte Ebene (a) the interpretation of the Treaties; Vierte Ebene (b) the validity and interpretation of acts of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the Union; Where such a question is raised before any court or tribunal of a Member State, that court or tribunal may, if it considers that a decision on the question is necessary to enable it to give judgment, request the Court to give a ruling thereon. Where any such question is raised in a case pending before a court or tribunal of a Member State against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law, that court or tribunal shall bring the matter before the Court. If such a question is raised in a case pending before a court or tribunal of a Member State with regard to a person in custody, the Court of Justice of the European Union shall act with the minimum of delay. 18

19 2. How to get there? Textmasterformate ECLI:EU:C:1982:335 durch C.I.L.F.I.T Klicken bearbeiten C-283/81 Article Zweite 177 Ebene of the EEC Treaty unreservedly requires national courts or tribunals against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national Dritte Ebene law to refer to the Court every question of interpretation raised before them, the authority Vierte of an Ebene interpretation already given by the Court may however deprive the obligation of its purpose and thus empty it of its substance. Such is the case especially when the question raised is materially identical with a question which has already been the subject of a preliminary ruling in a similar case or where previous decisions of the Court have already dealt with the point of law in question, irrespective of the nature of the proceedings which led to those decisions, even though the questions at issue are not strictly identical. 19

20 2. How to get there? Textmasterformate Exceptions: durch Klicken bearbeiten Zweite EU law Ebene is not decisive for main proceedings Acte Dritte éclairé Ebene (similar cases decided) Acte clair Vierte (proper Ebene interpretation is obvious) National court submits questions ECJ gives answers (or not) Lawyers to suggest to the local court to refer questions Case Name No court fees 20

21 2. How to get there? Textmasterformate Recommendation to durch national Klicken courts bearbeiten and tribunals regarding preliminary rulings ( Zweite Ebene Advice Dritte to counsel Ebene for hearings Speak slowly Vierte Ebene Submit written text beforehand for interpreters 21

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